By The New York Liberty bounced back from a stunning loss in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, holding off a late rally by the Minnesota Lynx to win, 80-66, and even the series 1-1 on Sunday.
Seeking the franchise’s first title, the top-seeded Liberty were led by two-time MVP Breanna Stewart’s 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a WNBA Finals single-game record seven steals, while forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton added a season-high 20 points.
Former No. 1 pick Sabrina Ionescu, who struggled from the field in Game 1, got off to a hot start on Sunday, scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting to lead the Liberty to a 31-21 lead after the first quarter. She finished with 15 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Despite Minnesota’s efforts to close the gap – getting to within six points after a three pointer by Natisha Hiedeman with 7:16 left in the second – New York responded with a 10-0 run to strengthen its grip on the game. The Liberty led by as much as 17, before entering halftime with a 49-39 advantage.
The Lynx continued to fight in the second half, with forward Alanna Smith sparking a third-quarter rally, that cut the deficit to four points. But Stewart scored four points and got a massive block to close out the third to help the Liberty hold off Minnesota’s charge.
The Lynx entered the fourth quarter eyeing more late game heroics, led by Game 1 hero Courtney Williams and 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier, trimming the lead to 66-64 with 5:36 remaining in the game.
However, New York shut the door on Minnesota’s comeback hopes, closing out the game on a 14-2 run to seal the victory in front of a record-crowd of 18,040 at the Barclays Center.
“I mean, I couldn’t wait to come back here Sunday and kind of change the narrative a little bit,” Stewart told the ABC broadcast after the game.
“We’re not panicked. We just continue to play together, play hard. We know a lot of the things that happened today, happened in the last game, but we continued to be resilient and played through it.”
The Lynx stunned the Liberty in Game 1 after coming back from 15 points down with five minutes left in the contest. Lynx star Courtney Williams’ four-point play with 5.5 seconds left gave the Lynx their first lead in a game in which they trailed by as much as 18 points.
As the clock expired in Game 1, Stewart was fouled under the basket, awarding the Liberty two free throws. However, she would make the first and miss the second to force overtime.
Collier led the way for the Lynx with a team-high 16, while Williams added 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the loss.
Game 3 of the best-of-five series is set for Wednesday, as the series shifts to the Target Center in Minneapolis, where the Lynx will continue their quest for a record-breaking fifth WNBA championship.
